The Masks of the Mane 6

by AlicornPriest

Glamour and Glitter, Fashion and Fame I (Rarity)

After her horrible meeting with Applejack, Twilight had sought out Rarity, a pony with a strong head on her shoulders. She'd caught her in the middle of an order, but Rarity was more than able to listen while she worked. Once Twilight mentioned that Applejack didn't like her, Rarity nodded. "Ah, so you got the 'hates everypony but herself' speech, I take it?"

Twilight sobbed and nodded her head. "You've heard it, too, then?"

Rarity unsuccessfully held back a laugh. "Darling, we've lived in the same town our entire lives. I'm quite well aware what she's like on the inside. You mustn't let it get to you."

"How can I do that? One of my best friends, and she can barely stand to look at me..."

"And yet she still works with you, right?" Rarity waved her thimbled hoof towards Twilight. "Maybe that's all you can stand on. So long as she maintains that appearance while out and about, you can stay amicable. You stay within the lines, and she'll stay the same friend she's always been."

Twilight sighed. "I suppose you're right. It's just... strange, the way she pretends to be someone she's not."

"It's not so strange. We all do the same thing." Rarity smiled, then waved Twilight close conspiratorially. "You may not know this, but my accent, as it were, is merely an affectation."

Twilight laughed at that. "Rarity, everypony knows that."

"Oh, of course, but that's not the point, is it? The point is, it establishes an appearance. Dress like the pony you want to be, not the pony you are, as the saying goes. Again, nopony knows that better than me."

"...Does that mean you're just friends with me to get up into Canterlot?"

Rarity sighed. "So you got that speech, too. The 'everypony else is just like me' one." At Twilight's nod, she rolled her eyes. "Two of Applejack's screeds; no wonder you're so broken up. The answer to the question is: no, that's not why I'm friends with you. I am using you to climb the social ladder, but that's not why we're friends."

To hear it so plainly threw Twilight for a loop at first. "You are? But..."

"Twilight, do I hurt you? Do I ever make you do anything you don't want to do?"

"No, but..."

"Persuasion is a funny thing, dear. An eye flutter here, a compliment there, and ponies will do whatever you like. So long as they don't feel pressured into doing something, I see no problem with that. Do you?"

"I suppose not." It still sounded dirty, but there wasn't a flaw in Rarity's logic, near as she could tell.

"Well, there you have it, then!" Rarity beamed, and Twilight felt her heart skip a beat. She'd never thought of it before, but Rarity's presence was powerful. With that recent point hashed out, Twilight could now analyze gestures like this. A smile like that put you at ease, made you feel as though everything was okay. It was like the stern teacher whose stare brooked no argument, only using weaponized cheer rather than disappointment.

"I think... I think I feel better. I guess I'll go home and--"

"Oh, no, Twilight, you just arrived!" Rarity said. "It would be rude of me not to offer you something. Would you like some tea perhaps, water, orange juice?"

"Orange juice sounds good."

"It's in the fridge. I'd get it myself, of course, but..." She gestured helplessly towards the dress she had pillowed over herself.

"That's fine, Rarity, I can get it." Though again, Twilight had noted Rarity's expressions. The subtle insistence to make her stay, the puppy-dog eyes to make her go herself and not make Rarity get up. As she went towards the kitchen, she knocked on her head to get those out of her head. If she kept watching for every single persuasive trick Rarity used, she'd be here all day.

***

It took her a pathetically long time to find the orange juice. Rarity had tucked it all the way in the back, camouflaged next to the milk cartons. Once she'd found it, she poured a glass for herself and headed back into the main lobby where Rarity was working. But the moment she stepped in, she just about spilled it on herself. Rarity had finished the stitching she'd been doing and had apparently moved on to reorganizing her stock. All at once. There was only one other unicorn Twilight had ever seen doing that much magic work all at once.

Herself.

She tried to find a subtle way to get Rarity's attention; the closest she could come up with was loudly coughing. Rarity's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and she swerved a mannequin out of the way of Twilight's head. She then quickly set everything down and fawned over a single dress next to her. "Oh, Twilight! I forgot you were here!"

"What was that?!" Twilight asked, her mouth still agape.

"Oh, nothing," Rarity replied. "I don't like to work 'in the zone' in company. As you can see, I'm not much for conversation in that state."

"I don't care about the conversation!" Twilight said. "You're incredible! How can you do all that at once?" she asked.

"It's all in the fine details, dear. I'm a fashionista, so it's not so unusual, really. You do much better than me every day."

"Rarity," Twilight explained slowly, "I'm four sigma. Literally one of the most magical ponies in Equestria. If you're comparing yourself to me, you are too."

"...I don't follow. Are you saying I'm... good with magic?" Rarity asked.

"No. I'm saying you're probably one of the top five magically-endowed unicorns of all time."

"Now, Twilight," she said, laughing, "surely that's an exaggeration! Little old me, one of the most powerful unicorns of all time?"

"I wouldn't have believed it either if you hadn't just done it," Twilight said. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. "Those audiovisual tricks, back when you made us dresses for the Gala. Did you do those yourself?"

"Yes, of course." Rarity seemed confused at this. "But all designers do those for their shows."

"With about a half-dozen pre-charged crystal projectors, maybe." Twilight produced an example from her magical storage. "They take about two weeks to make at home, or they cost about thirty bits from a high-end store. And you do it without breaking a sweat."

With those solid numbers, Rarity finally understood just what Twilight was saying. "One of those most powerful..."

"You, me before I ascended, Star Swirl, Vespers, Meadowbrook. Possibly in that order."

"No... no, you must be mistaken. I'm just a fashion designer. I'm not a magician!"

"You're not, but you could be," Twilight pleaded. "You're a little old for my alma mater, but Celestia might take you on--"

"No, thank you, Twilight."

"--if you wanted... no?"

"That's right."

Twilight thought about this for a moment. "I know it's really sudden, Rarity, but this could be huge for you, for your businesses--"

"I said no, Twilight." Rarity huffed. "I am a fashionista. That's all I am, and that's all I want to be."

"One last thing, then." Twilight pulled a book out of her storage and gave it to Rarity. "Your cutie marks aren't diamonds."

Rarity screwed up her face, holding back some expletive, surely. "Twilight, dearest, I think I know what my own cutie mark is. They're diamonds."

"If they were diamonds, you'd see them from their side. They're not diamonds. They're crystals." Twilight turned the pages to the very end, where she pointed out three symbols. "There are three symbols that directly represent magic: the star of Vespers, like mine; the patterned swirl; and the magical crystal. And the more you have, the more powerful you are. Star Swirl was a legend because he had two. You have three."

The book fell from Rarity's magic with a clunk. "I need you to leave right now, Twilight."

"You're not--"

"No, I'm not mad. But I do need you to leave."

"What's the--"

"You've just changed everything I knew about my life. I need some time to think, Twilight. Alone."

"All right." Twilight slipped out the door. She'd have to just wait and hope to hear Rarity's response. Although... Twilight wasn't sure whether she wanted to hear that Rarity would go for a study program or that she wouldn't. Either way, things couldn't be the same.